Hustler Platinum 4: Arsenic Review

Distributor: Hustler Edition Details: Standard DVD Movie Specs: Genres: Feature Film, Foreign Run Time: 126 minutes Rated: XXX Release Year: 2002 Director: Pierre Woodman Written by: Pierre Woodman (written by), Vincent Winner (original screenplay) Cast: Drimla, Angie Scott (as Suzie), Lucia, Daphnye (as Daffney), Mia Panther (as Zita), Passion, Rebecca, Eve Angel (as Sevrine), Ahud (as Michelle), Philippe Duroc, Manuel Ferrara (as Manu), Alain Deloin, Sebastien Barrio (as Sebastian Barrio), Reda, Kevin Long, Bob Terminator, Gabriella Tchekan (as Gabriella), J.P.X., Pascal St. James, Sophie Paris (as Sophie) Release Specs: Audio: English Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo (dubbed) Subtitles: none Video: Full Frame, 1.33:1 Video Format: NTSC Format: DVD Regional Code (for DVD/Blu-ray): 0 (All) Number of discs: 1 Disc: DVD 9 (SS, DL) Special Features: Behind the Scenes of Brazilian Snake, Slide Show, Director's Profile, Previews DVD-ROM Special Features: none

Synopsis:
Elodie's (Drimla) husband dies and she suspects that he was killed by a secret powerful organization. She hires detective Jonathan Stark (Philippe Duroc) to find out what really happened.

Audio/Video:
Arsenic — Part 1 is presented with a dubbed English 2.0 Stereo track. The track is poorly dubbed and I think much of the original script is lost as it appears like much is said by the character when being filmed, but the dubbed track only gives a short sentence. There is also dubbing during the sex scenes with dialog added to them. The dialog is clear and can be heard at all times during the film. Hustler hasn't included the original language track for the film, which is too bad as I think there are a large percentage of viewers that would prefer to watch the sex scenes without the dubbing. I also would have liked English subtitles to go with the original language track. Hustler hasn't included any foreign language tracks or any subtitle options for the feature film.

Arsenic — Part 1 is presented in the full screen aspect ratio of 1.33:1, which appears to be the original aspect ratio for the film. If the film has been cropped, no evidence is on this disc of that. The picture is clear sporting good color levels however the picture isn't as crisp as it could be. There are no artifacts, blemishes or glitches present during the presentation of the film.

Special Features:
Hustler has included a few extras on the disc, but most of them have nothing to do with the feature film. There is a slide show with 19 stills on a track. There is a director's profile included for Pierre Woodman, that runs for 8 minutes and features an interview mixed with footage from some of his films. There is a “Behind the scenes of Brazilian Snake” feature, which is a 29 minutes piece of which most is not in English, showing footage from the making of Brazilian Snake 1 and Brazilian Snake 2. The bitrate is low in places as they exhibit pixels. There are also previews included on the disc for Young Sluts, Inc 6, Hot Showers 3, Anal Intensive, Barely Legal 27, Superfuckers 14, and Asian Fever 8.

Disc Design/Navigation:
The disc is designed with simple animated menus with background music. When you first pop in the disc, an advert plays, but unlike early Hustler discs, you can skip over the advert. There are seven chapters available from the chapter menu, each one is identified by a video clip. Each chapter on the chapter menu goes to six sub chapters, which are identified by a video clip and the sex act. There are 63 chapter stops within the feature film itself. There is a time code encoded on the disc for the feature film.

General Review:
Arsenic — Part 1 is the first half of the film, with the second half being in Arsenic — Part 2. Like most multi-part adult films, there is no end or anything resembling the end of a film on this disc. The film just stops at one point to continue in the next part. So if you are interested in following the plot, you'll want to pick up or rent both titles around the same time. Not that the plot is all that good or worth following. The plot takes a side seat to the sex plodding along through a collection of sex scenes that don't always truly fit in. I wish, since they made the decision to make a feature film, they had tried to develop a decent plot and made the sex scenes fit into the plot better.

Plot aside, the sex scenes are rather good, although they feel slightly like an overt attempt is being made to have certain acts appear in each scene rather than allowing them to flow more naturally. Not that the sex scenes are bad, but I think that they could have been much better. As previously stated, the scenes don't always fit in with the plot. In addition, the scenes don't always seem to fit in with the characters either. For instance, the scene with Severine, where she is playing the hotel manager's daughter seducing Philippe Duroc, playing Jonathan Stark, doesn't seem very realistic. Characters are pretty much thrown aside for the sex scenes, which works against the film. There is also a problem with horrible dubbing for the sex scenes. The audio from the filming appears to be intact for the scenes but over that audio is a horrible over dub throughout all of the scenes that was just plain distracting and very detrimental to the scenes. I would have liked the scenes much more without the over dubbing. The sexual themes in the film are vaginal and anal sex with pussy fingering, blow jobs, male masturbation, DP, female masturbation, hand jobs and anilingus. For viewers that care about condom use, there are no condoms used in the film.

As is standard with European films, the cast looks good. The male cast on average is better looking than your standard American cast and the women all look great. One aspect that I liked about the film is the females aren't all shaven bald or sporting adult film star like trims. Instead several of the female cast members are sporting pubic hair like you'd find on a woman who cares about her appearance. The cast members all appear to be enjoying themselves, but it's hard to tell with the horrible over dubbing.

The production values for the film are high making a slick and glossy looking film, sporting indoor and outdoor locations that fit what is going on in the plot and in the sex scenes. The film is nicely shot making for a very nice looking film. The music used in the film is above average as well, with non-standard porn music that adds to the film.

Scene Synopsis:
The first scene brings us Drimla and Manu and the scene starts out with Manu having vaginal sex with Drimla. Then Drimla gives Manu a hand job until he cums on her face.

The second scene gives us Daphne, Lucia, Bob Terminator and Philippe Duroc and the scene stats out with Bob rubbing Daphne's pussy though her underwear while Lucia strokes Philippe's dick in his pants. Then Lucia gives Philippe a blow job. Bob then pulls Daphne's panties aside and fingers her. Daphne and Bob go into some vaginal sex as do Philippe and Lucia. Philippe and Lucia switch over to some anal sex as do Bob and Daphne. While Bob continues to have anal sex with Daphne, Lucia licks Daphne's pussy while Philippe masturbates. Philippe moves in and he and Bob DP Daphne while Lucia masturbates. Philippe has vaginal sex with Lucia while Bob anally fingers her and she goes Bob a hand job while Daphne masturbates. Then Bob and Philippe DP Lucia. Daphne gives Philippe a blow job as Lucia gives Bob a blow job. Bob weakly cums in the air and then Philippe cums on himself and Daphne's mouth.

The third scene features Rebecca and Reda and starts out with Rebecca giving Reda a blow job. Then Reda eats her pussy before they go into the vaginal sex. Reda masturbates a little before he anally penetrates Rebecca. Rebecca masturbates until Reda cums on her face.

The fourth scene brings us Zita, Kevin Long and Philippe Duroc and the scene starts out with Zita giving Kevin a blow job while Philippe masturbates. Kevin eats out Zita's pussy and ass while she blows Philippe then Kevin goes in for some vaginal sex. Philippe gets in some vaginal sex before he switches over to anal sex while Kevin gets a blow job. Kevin goes back to the vaginal sex while Philippe masturbates then the two DP her. Kevin masturbates while Zita blows Philippe. Philippe cums on Zita's face, then she blows Kevin until he cums on her face as well.

The fifth scene gives us Ahud and Alain Deloin and the scene starts out with Alain fingering Ahud's pussy. Then Alain starts eating her out while she gives him a blow job. The two then go into some vaginal sex. Ahud goes back to giving Alain a blow job. The two return to the vaginal sex before going into some anal sex. They return to the vaginal sex for a while before returning to the anal sex. At the end of the scene, Alain cums in Ahud's mouth.

The sixth scene features Severine and Philippe Duroc. Philippe starts out by eating Severine's pussy and ass. Then she gives him a blow job. The two then go into some vaginal sex. Then they go into some anal sex. Then Philippe fingers her while she gives him a hand job and licks his balls. She gives him a blow job as he continues to finger her. To end the scene, Philippe cums in Severine's mouth.

The seventh and final scene brings us Gabriella Tckeckan, Angie Scott, Alain Deloin and Sebastian Barrio. Alain and Sebastian start out by fingering Gabriella. Then Gabriella gives Sebastian a blow job while Alain eats her. Alain gets in some vaginal sex while Gabriella continues to give Sebastian a blow job. Then Angie enters the scene and masturbates. Then Angie gives Alain a blow job while Gabriella fucks Sebastian. Angie masturbates while Alain and Sebastian DP Gabriella. Angie gives them both a hand job until both men cum on Gabriella's face and each other.

Parting Thoughts:
I wish the story had been better and the sex scenes had fit into the film better, however, Arsenic — Part 1 isn't a bad film, it's more of an average adult film. Viewers who don't care about a story, but also don't mind the presence of one, and sex featuring a lot of anal, will have the best chance at enjoying this film. Viewers who hate the presence of a plot or like tame sex will want to pass on this title. If you want to follow the plot, you'll want to rent or pick up Arsenic — Part 2 at the same time so you can follow the complete story. If you are interested in the film, I'd recommend a rental before a purchase to make sure this is one that you want in your permanent collection.

Screenshots:

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